Appreciating the Foul Poles in my life

Foul Pole, a photo by Michael David Gonzales on Flickr.

I had coffee with a good friend of mine this morning and it really made my day and my week. I haven't met with him in a long time so it was good to catch up. When we first started Front Range, back in 2009, I would meet with Jarrod on a weekly basis for coffee and a bagel at Einstein's. How we met was a God directed appointment and we continued to meet because of a common interest. We were both in the process of planting a 'Family Integrated' church. Ours–Messianic, and theirs–Christian. He shared with me his wealth of knowledge about Biblical and historical family integration in the church and ancient Israel. He had recently graduated from Denver Seminary where he wrote his master's thesis on this topic. In addition to all the information he shared, Jarrod was also very encouraging which was what I really needed at the time. Starting a church is not easy and it can get intimidating and overwhelming at times; a lot of the time.

What I noticed about our meeting today was that Jarrod holds me accountable in my thoughts and actions. I don't think I've noticed this in the past like I did today. I don't remember asking him to hold me accountable, he just does it. Why? Well, this is what a godly friend is supposed to do. As believers, we should be challenging each other spiritually because Adonai is part of our friendship. Proverbs 27:17 says Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. This means that when we come together as friends and as we share our ideas and our thoughts, we should be encouraging and admonishing each other in the process. This back and forth challenging each other in areas of weakness, encouraging each other in new pursuits will continually push us toward Adonai and strengthen our relationship with each other.

A godly friend is like a foul pole at a baseball park. When a ball is hit over the centerfield fence it's obviously a homerun. But when the ball is hit over the fence straight up the foul line, depending on where you are standing, it is hard to determine if it is a good ball or a foul ball. The foul pole is there to make it clear, no matter where you are, if the ball went foul or not. Sometimes when we pass our ideas and thoughts by our friends, we may think they are homeruns; But after meeting and talking it over with them, we discover that our thoughts or past actions were actually foul balls.

Thank you, Adonai, for putting foul poles in my life; friends who push me back to You and Your Word.

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
Psalm 1:1

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Proverbs 13:20

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